Table 3 Inclusion criteria

All interviewees:

• are 16 years old or older;

• are mentally competent to engage in the interview;

• are fluent enough in the Dutch language to participate in the in-depth interview;

• are involved in family care, as either caregiver or care receiver;

• are aware that the involved patient is in the palliative phase of life and has a limited life expectancy.

The involved patients (not necessarily interviewees):

• are 16 years old or older;

• have an incurable and life-limiting oncological or neurological disease, organ failure, or elderly frailty (dementia is excluded, because of the specifically changing nature of the relationship between caregiver and patient);

• are in such condition that their involved healthcare professional would not be surprised if this patient died within the next 12 months (e.g. the “surprise question” as used in palliative care);

• receive family care at home from at least one loved one (partner, child, parent, sibling, friend, etc.); or has received this care before being transferred to a hospice or other care institution.